Velocity vs Time and

Acceleration vs Time
Graph

General Physics 1
Objects are in motion everywhere we
look. Everything from a tennis
game to a space-probe flyby of the planet
Neptune involves motion. When you
are resting, your heart moves blood
through your veins. And even in
nonliving
objects, there is a continuous motion in
the vibrations of atoms and molecules.
Questions about motion are interesting in and of
themselves: How long will it take for a space
probe to get to Mars? Where will a football land
if it is thrown at a certain angle? But an
understanding of motion is also key to
understand other concepts in physics. An
understanding of acceleration, for example, is
crucial to the study of force.
We can recall that:
 POSITION
In order to describe the motion of an object, you
must first be able to
describe its position—where it is at any particular
time. More precisely, you
need to specify its position relative to a
convenient reference frame. Earth is
often used as a reference frame, and we often
describe the position of an object
as it relates to stationary objects in that reference
frame.
 DISPLACEMEN
T
If an object moves relative to a reference frame
(for example, if a professor moves to the right
relative to a white board or a passenger moves
toward the rear of an airplane), then the object’s
position changes. This change in position is
known as displacement. The word
“displacement” implies that an object has moved,
or has been displaced.
 DISTANCE
Although displacement is described in terms of
direction, distance is

not. Distance is defined to be the magnitude or size

of displacement between
two positions. Note that the distance between two
positions is not the same as
the distance traveled between them. Distance
traveled is the total length of the
path traveled between two positions. Distance has
no direction and, thus, no sign.
VECTOR QUANTITY
is any quantity
• with both magnitude and direction.

• Vector Displacement is an
example of a vector quantity.
 SCALAR
is any quantity that has a magnitude, but no direction.
Distance
QUANTITY
• is an example of a scalar quantity.
 TIME
In physics, the definition of time
is simple— time is change,

or the interval over which change

occurs. It is impossible to know
that time has

passed unless something changes.

 SPEED
In everyday language, most people use the
terms “speed” and “velocity”
interchangeably. In physics, however, they
do not have the same meaning and they are
distinct concepts. One major difference is
that speed has no direction. Thus speed is a
scalar.
 INSTANTANEOUS SPEED
It is the magnitude of instantaneous velocity.

Velocity The velocity of an object is the rate of change of its position with

respect to a frame of reference, and is a function of time. It is equivalent to a

specification of an object's speed and direction of motion
 Coordinate Systems for
One-Dimensional Motion
In order to describe the direction of a vector quantity, you must
designate a coordinate system within the reference frame. For
one-dimensional motion, this is a simple coordinate system
consisting of a one-dimensional coordinate line. In general, when
describing horizontal motion, motion to the right is usually
considered positive, and motion to the left is considered negative.
With vertical
motion, motion up is usually positive and motion down is
negative.
 Example Problem :
Calculating Position and Velocity of a Falling Object:
A Rock Thrown Upward A person standing on the edge of a high cliff
throws a rock straight up with an initial velocity of 13.0 m/s. The rock
misses the edge of the cliff as it falls back to earth. Calculate the
position and velocity of the rock 1.00 s, 2.00 s, and 3.00 s after it is
thrown, neglecting the effects of air resistance.
We can plot the graphs as follows:
At 1.00 s the rock is above its starting point
and heading upward, since y1 and v1 are
both positive. At 2.00 s, the rock is still
above its starting point, but the negative
velocity means it is moving downward. At
3.00 s, both y3 and v3 are negative,
meaning the rock is below its starting point
and continuing to move downward. When
The values for y are the positions (or displacements) of the
rock, not the total

distances traveled. Free-fall applies to upward motion as

well as downward.

Both have the same acceleration – the acceleration due to

gravity, which

remains constant the entire time.

Learning Competency:

Construct velocity vs. time and acceleration vs. time graphs,

respectively,

corresponding to a given position vs. time-graph and velocity vs.

time graph

General
and Physics
vice versa 1
(STEM_GP12KIN-Ib-16)